Chapter 107: The Dragon, the Phoenix, and the Tiger (5)
Chapter 107: The Dragon, the Phoenix, and the Tiger (5)
"Young Hero Peng, you may step down now. We shall conclude today's duels here. If you wish, I will arrange for you to stand on this stage again tomorrow."
The Alliance Leader spoke with a gratified smile.
The orthodox martial artists began to murmur amongst themselves, having just witnessed a direct descendant of the Five Great Clans being toyed with and beaten senseless without being able to land a single blow.
In truth, it was the perfect time to stop. To face me now, they would have to send out the likes of the Little Arhat, the direct disciple of the Sword Immortal of Zhongnan, or Taoist Danheo.
However, those matches were meant to be the title bouts of this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
If all the top contenders were eliminated on the very first day of the finals, it would be a massive blow to the Martial Alliance's prestige.
I cupped my fists toward the Alliance Leader, slung the Peng Family Saber over my shoulder, and stepped off the stage.
Until I cleared the arena, the gathered martial artists remained silent, doing nothing but glaring at me.
They were likely realizing the weight of what it meant for someone my age to have reached the Peak Realm.
They also realized what would become of this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. With troubled expressions, the crowd began to disperse.
*
Inside the Murong Family’s tent.
"You rogue! Was such an insult truly necessary? And why on earth did you insist on consecutive duels? Once you defeated the son of the Taihu Sect Leader, you should have followed the proper order!"
"Well, I wanted to settle things on the first day if possible."
There was no need to drag it out. If Zhuge Jeong-yeong had been the culprit, the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering would have gone out of business right then and there. Think of how clean and efficient that would have been.
"At the very least, you shouldn't have provoked them! This was an opportunity to spread your fame throughout the Orthodox Faction! A chance to respect one another, test your martial arts, exchange kind words, and build connections...!"
What is this, a sports manga?
No, wait.
I am a thug. I shall accept the judgment of the Martial Alliance...
"Still, um... you worked hard. I suppose you put in a great deal of effort to... to win. Yes. It was impressive. If you continue to devote yourself with that attitude, you might even be able to shed the yoke of the Han people."
"Why, you little barbarian..."
"In any case, since you've made your debut, you must do your best. Do you understand? Like today... no, win with a bit more grace than you did today!"
Murong Cheong pursed her lips as if she wanted to say more but held back.
She spent a good while longer lecturing me on why I had to win the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering before finally making her exit.
As I watched her leave, I noticed Murong Seo-jeong nearby, pressing his brow as if enduring a wave of shame.
"Does she not know?"
"Is there a need to tell her? I told her I am pursuing the culprit myself, so she needn't worry."
"I suppose that's true."
There was no reason to let her know there was a high probability the Zhuge Family would try to kill me on the dueling stage.
Given Murong Cheong’s personality, if she found out, she’d likely blame herself and go hide in a corner somewhere.
Since it was something that had to be done anyway, why dampen the kid's spirits? It wouldn't change the outcome.
"The matter regarding Zhuge Jeong-yeong was unexpected. Ah—I cannot use Sound Transmission. Is this alright?"
"I deployed a Qi barrier the moment Cheong-er started talking to you. Do not worry."
"As expected of my father-in-law."
"Who is your father-in-law, you brat?!"
"I meant Cheong-er's father. Honestly, what are you thinking?"
This father-daughter duo really loved their random, unprovoked outbursts.
Murong Seo-jeong was even chipping away at the cool, dignified image he’d projected during his first appearance.
"I heard that Eon Se-jeong is currently hiding within the Martial Alliance headquarters."
"Did Young Master Zhuge tell you that?"
"Yes. It seems it was true that he joined hands with the Zhuge Family."
"Hmph. So he defied his own family's will to set things right? He has decent potential, then."
Murong Seo-jeong walked with a smirk. He was right.
Regardless of how much of the family had joined the 'Black Team,' it was no easy feat to defy the orders of family elders and Super Peak masters.
However, Murong Seo-jeong soon shook his head.
"But as long as he is the eldest son of the Zhuge Family, it was inevitable. The breaking of the engagement with Cheong-er would have happened sooner or later."
"Why are you telling me this...?"
"If not to you, then to whom?"
"Can we stop with the weird talk and get to the point...?"
No one approached us until we entered the pavilion designated for the Murong Family in the Guest Hall.
It was only natural, given that the Murong Family Head himself was moving while radiating a palpable aura.
He sat at a tea table on the first floor and dismissed the attendants.
"Eon Se-jeong—I will find that boy myself. At the very least, as long as the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering continues, he won't dare step into my line of sight."
"The task itself hasn't changed. I will finish what I started."
"Indeed. However, you must be even more cautious. Now that they know you suspect them, their methods will become even more venomous."
"Do you have anyone in mind, Family Head?"
"Hmm..."
Murong Seo-jeong leaned over his teacup, lost in thought.
After organizing his thoughts, he let out a deep sigh.
"There are too many. If the Zhuge Family decides not to use Jeong-yeong and instead plots to 'Kill with a Borrowed Knife' using someone other than their own kin, there is too much they can do."
Even before the founding of the Martial Alliance, the Zhuge Family was renowned for its vast and solid reputation.
They were a family proficient in all fields—trade, divination, formations, and martial arts—and their prestige was immense because they never hesitated to help others.
Furthermore, they preferred the role of a supporter rather than taking the lead and making enemies.
To put it kindly, it was the virtue of a humble strategist; to put it cynically, it was the hallmark of a devious schemer.
Therefore, excluding the most obvious case—using Zhuge Jeong-yeong—there were far too many possibilities.
In the current Orthodox Faction, there was no one who could completely erase the influence of the Zhuge Family.
Even the stubborn and eccentric Eon Family of Jinzhou had managed to avoid becoming public enemies for generations thanks to the connections they had built over the years.
How much more so for the Zhuge Family, who were widely regarded as benevolent gentlemen?
Murong Seo-jeong and I remained silent for a long time before eventually shaking our heads.
"Since I know little of the Orthodox Faction, there is something I must check. Is there any way to strike at the Zhuge Family right now?"
"None. Unlike those Eon fools, the Zhuge clan would not have left such evidence behind."
"Then is there no chance the Zhuge Family will give up their cooperation with the Eon Family? As time passes, the Eon Family will surely fall. If they cannot find a way to kill me before then, it is inevitable. Since you have personally come to protect me, would the Zhuge Family Head really accept such a burden?"
"That is a possibility. But... is there not too much at stake to set your mind at ease with such thoughts? You know that your life is the wager on the table in this situation."
Murong Seo-jeong looked at me with a gaze that even hinted at worry.
This man... what should I call it? Like all the Murongs I’d met so far, he was simply too nice.
If I said that out loud, he’d probably turn into a 'Hmph, I'm pouting' villainess mode, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
He continued to lecture me with words that were half-scolding and half-concern.
"Furthermore, one must always act after assuming the worst-case scenario. Do you not know the saying, 'A conceited army is bound to be defeated' (驕兵必敗)?"
"Haha, yes. I understand."
"You must not take my words lightly. The weight of the life hanging on your neck is not yours alone."
I half-listened to the nagging of this peerless chatterbox while sinking into my own thoughts.
He wasn't wrong. It was foolish to hope that things would go exactly as I planned.
In that case, in a situation where information was extremely scarce, I had to infer the process from the conclusion.
When I returned to my room and sat on my bed, I looked out at the dark night sky of Wuchang and pondered.
Beyond that darkness, there was a giant hand. I could see an elegant gesture, clad in a scholar’s sleeve.
Just when I thought I had achieved longevity—or perhaps taken the lead—that hand was laughing as if the entire thing were a mere trick. A game of feints and truths.
White stones were being placed on the streets of Wuchang. The opponent's scheme was clear.
Like all rivals under heaven, that person was also aiming for my life.
The pieces they held were Eon Do-cheon, Eon Se-jeong, the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord, and other martial sects cooperating with the Zhuge Family, along with the guards and martial units under the command of the Strategist Department within the Martial Alliance. And beyond that, I could see stones hidden in the shadows.
Unfairly enough, the opponent's side of the board was obscured.
The bloody incident in Yunnan.
It was clearly a move made to lure away the peerless masters of the Orthodox Faction.
If the Sword Immortal or the Beggar Immortal had remained at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, the Eon Family of Jinzhou would have been branded public enemies long ago.
On the other hand, the pieces I held were the Hebei Peng Family and the Hao Clan. Neither could be used right now.
The former’s sphere of influence was too far from this Hubei region, and the latter had failed to plant its members within Wuchang.
The most powerful pieces remaining were the Martial Alliance Leader, Five Leaf Sword Lord Yeon Seok-hong, and the Murong Family Head, Murong Seo-jeong of the Twin Blades of Central China.
Two peerless masters were protecting me.
Yes, it was impossible to plot against me in Wuchang in any way other than through the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
My head grew hot with thought.
It was a struggle to calculate the placement of stones and lead the flow of the game while gauging each other's hands.
The score between me and that person was 1:1. I had thwarted the assassination of the young geniuses, and in exchange, they had successfully hidden their methods.
Tap. Tap.
I tapped the tea table while looking out at the night streets.
The streets of Wuchang were bustling, as if the chaos of the previous days had been a lie.
Countless young martial artists were gathered in small groups, building connections.
Truly.
There were so many people under heaven who could not live under the same sky.
And, to put it another way, there were so many schemers under heaven.
"Middle-period China isn't easy."
I picked up the wine bottle on the table, took a drink, and looked down at the night streets of Wuchang for a long time.
*
Cheon Hwa-ryeong had slipped away from the meaningless, repetitive drinking parties of the young geniuses and was on her way back to her inn.
Aside from a single maidservant escorting her, the other experts of the Cult were lying in wait in various locations, awaiting her orders.
Even when she arrived at the pavilion and retired to her chambers, no one spoke to her.
No, they couldn't. The position of Heavenly Demon was akin to a living god within the Cult.
Those who accompanied her on this journey through the Central Plains were loyalists handpicked from the Cult; they were people who would consider it the greatest honor of their lives just to meet the Little Heavenly Demon's gaze.
She had lived a life surrounded by such people. It had been that way until now, and it would be that way in the future. What a dull, ash-colored world it was.
Cheon Hwa-ryeong sipped her wine in her chambers, looking out at the cluster of pavilions of the Martial Alliance in Wuchang.
Somewhere in there, not far away, her husband would be.
To have him at the closest distance she’d ever experienced, to have him know of her existence, and yet to spend these brief moments acting as if they hadn't noticed each other...
It is like the face-changing performers of the Sichuan Opera, swapping masks back and forth. Thinking of it that way made it feel quite sweet.
Even though it was a relationship that would drift apart the moment their identities were revealed, if they could continue to playfully deceive each other like this for a lifetime, that would be...
She loved such meaningless, beautiful moments.
Trickle...
The sound of the Flower-Red Wine filling her cup echoed in the silence.
Only after the cup was full did she speak.
"What is it?"
"My apologies. However, the Great Lord of Heaven Mountain has issued a command."
"Speak."
"He orders your return. He says you should conclude your travels and return to the Cult to secure the succession..."
"Succession?"
"Yes. The Great Lord intends to choose one of the direct descendants of the Demon Families..." Choke—Gah!!
"I believe I issued a command through Elder Seo."
The messenger of the Cult, who had approached soundlessly, gasped, his face turning pale as a bundle of pitch-black Astral Energy gripped his throat.
He was an expert capable of standing alone in the Martial World, yet he hadn't even sensed this strike.
To have reached such a sublime realm... Even with death looming, the messenger trembled with admiration.
As the Little Heavenly Demon waved her hand, the Astral Energy vanished as if melting away, as silently as it had appeared.
"I said I would pull out the tongue of anyone who opened their mouth about my marriage again. Your tongue had better have more value than that. Did my father issue any other orders?"
"Cough... Hack! Yes, Supreme One. Regarding the return to the Cult... Gasp! It is said that signs of the Blood Cult have been discovered. The Demon Brain himself has ordered a reconnaissance...!"
"The Blood Cult?"
"Yes. Traces of those blasphemous wretches were seen in the recent bloody incident in Yunnan. We do not know what they intend, but it is surely an ill omen. Please, show your wisdom."
"And the Martial Alliance's response?"
"They do not seem to know yet. Contact has been lost with the Beggar Immortal, who went down to Yunnan. The beggars in Kaifeng are also said to be investigating the matter seriously..."
"Hmm."
The Little Heavenly Demon toyed with her wine cup, lost in thought for a moment. She soon nodded and spoke.
"I will leave in five days. Tell the Ghost Sword of the Western Heaven to prepare. First... we plan to stop in Tianjin, so tell him to plan the route accordingly."
"By your command."
The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering would be over by then.
If so, she had to spend time with Peng Hyeon-hwi in Tianjin as promised. And—
Even if the mongrels of the Blood Cult were stirring, they could not invade the current Wuchang. If it did escalate into a major incident, someone had to protect Peng Hyeon-hwi.
She had heard that he always fought until he was covered in wounds before collapsing.
Hadn't it been that way just a few days ago?
The tingling sensation from when she saved Peng Hyeon-hwi, who had almost frozen to death during Eon Do-cheon's raid, was still vivid.
The feeling of wiping his bare body with a warm, damp towel still lingered on her fingertips. She could not leave such a sturdy yet reckless man alone.
"My husband truly requires a lot of looking after."
Cheon Hwa-ryeong smiled warmly again as she looked toward the Martial Alliance pavilions before closing her window.
Had she not sworn an oath ten years ago?
No matter what in this world threatened him, she, at least, would surely protect and cherish him.